Twenty20 Cup: Middlesex home in on Oval

By Simon Briggs at Hove

12:01AM BST 26 Jun 2008

Middlesex (153-4) bt Sussex (151-7) by 6 wkts

After extending their Twenty20 Cup record to seven wins from nine, Middlesex are hoping to play their quarter-final at the Oval. The idea makes perfect sense, given that Lord's is already booked, yet it still feels as unnatural as Liverpool hosting a home match at Goodison Park.

With Middlesex now strong favourites to top the South Division, chief executive Vinny Codrington will be speaking to Surrey officials today. Even after thumping hapless Sussex last night, they need to win their final match - against Surrey, ironically - to be sure of a 'home' draw.

The quarter-finals are scheduled for the second week of July, which is also the week of the Lord's Test between England and South Africa. The home of cricket cannot be the home of Middlesex, for that match at least, because the Test teams will be busy netting from Monday onwards.

Middlesex do have the option of playing at Uxbridge, but that ground only holds 4,500 at most. Not only would the club lose out on 10,000-15,000 spectators, but health and safety considerations would require them to sell all the tickets in advance in order to avoid the possibility of large numbers being shut out.

"I had a meeting with the players tonight and they were open to the idea," Codrington said. "Their first thought was that it would be a shame not to play at one of our own grounds. But then we tossed it around a bit more, and for an attack with two spinners, the Oval is not such a bad place to play. Of course, we have to get there first."

Surrey see the arrangement as a welcome bonus, despite the long-standing rivalry between the London clubs.

"Clearly there would be some sort of ground fee if we end up hosting the match," a club official said last night. "And let's face it: Surrey aren't going any further in this tournament."

A Middlesex victory on Sunday would thus be convenient for all parties, though Mark Ramprakash and his players have too much pride to help out.

Middlesex had a fresh-faced side last night, including three men of 19 and one of 20. Dan Housego came in to open in place of Andrew Strauss, unavailable for the quarter-final as he will be on Test duty. But the youngest man in the side was Steve Finn, a tall seamer who toured last winter with England Lions.

In his second spell, Finn all but sank the Sharks with three quick wickets. All three batsmen were trying to pull - or, more accurately, slog - but Finn's bounce was too much.

When Middlesex replied, Housego struggled to abandon his forward defence, which was presumably drummed into him at the Oratory School. At one point he had four runs from five overs, while his opening partner Billy Godleman (yes, another 19-year-old) had 40.

The final stages were another horror story for James Kirtley, whose figures of 4-0-67-0 during the Essex blitzkrieg on Tuesday were the worst in the history of 20-over cricket. After a relatively tight start, he returned with Middlesex needing 25 from three overs and promptly went for 14.